I'm sure Mark used the words "rain clouds" as a paraphrase to convey the specific interpretation to a modern reader, but obviously he agrees with these translations:

> mist - KJV

> water - NLV

> water - Good News

> mist - ASV

since that is what a rain cloud actually is. Anyhow, I don't put much stock in arguments based on the definitions of single words, since it is the popular usage of words that determines their meaning, and the only usage of ancient Hebrew that we have available to us is in the Bible itself. This can lead to circular reasoning when we start talking about words that are not commonly used or that may have had secondary usages that were not predominant. The strength of Mark's argument is that it is based on the logic of the passage and not upon the meaning of a single word.

> rise up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground …”

>

>

>

> He’s winging it. This doesn’t follow any other translation.

>

>

>

> streams - NIV

>

> mist - KJV

>

> fountain - LXX

>

> water - NLV

>

> stream - RSV

>

> water - Good News

>

> mist - ASV

>

Obviously all the translators can do is guess at the meaning of this word.
One other clue would be its only other use in the Bible, which is in Job
36:27, where it has something to do with producing rain.

Gordon Brown (ASA member)

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Received on Mon Mar 2 23:54:46 2009